Israeli Airstrikes Reported Near Syria's Damascus Airport

A series of explosions occurred near Syria's Damascus International Airport Thursday morning, according to the New York Times.

Syrian officials immediately blamed Israel for the strikes that targeted weapon warehouses operated by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israel's intelligence minister, Yisrael Katz appeared to confirm Israel was behind the attack.

"I can confirm that the incident in Syria completely conforms to Israel's policy, [which is] to act so as to prevent the smuggling of advanced weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon by Iran," Katz told Army Radio via the Guardian.

"When we receive intelligence that points to the intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act. This incident conforms completely to that policy."

According to Syria's state-run news agency Sana, the strikes caused only material damage and resulted in no human casualties. However, Channel1iba's Amichai Stein reported multiple military personnel were killed in the strike.

Sana reported the military installation targeted in the attack serves both military and civilian flights. Citing a regional intelligence source, Reuters reported weapon supplies from Tehran, Iran are routinely sent to the area near Damascus airport by commercial and military cargo planes.

Located in Syria's capital city, Damascus airport is the country's busiest airport, having hosted more than 5 million passengers as recently as 2010.

Neither FlightAware.com nor FlightStats.com tracks flight delays or cancellations at the airport, so the impact on passenger flights remains uncertain at this time.

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